Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Most Malaysians of my generation and before, grew up with sweetened condensed milk (susu pekat manis) as an essential sweetener to our daily beverages – from Teh Tarik (Pulled Tea) at the local coffee shop to making Milo at home. In fact, the condensed milk could often make or break the taste of your favourite drink. During my childhood, there is nothing more satisfying than spreading condensed milk over toast and butter.

With canned condensed milk so easily available, why make my own? Because I prefer not to put these ingredients found in the can – food additives, stabilizers and “natural” flavouring”, into my body. Basically condensed milk is just milk and sugar cook until evaporated and thickens. Use full cream (full fat) milk to get the best flavours. Most recipes I found online uses milk powder, well.. don’t get me started talking why I prefer not using milk powder.

I get fresh milk (RM5 for 1.5 liters) from the University Putra Malaysia (UPM)’s farm in Serdang. The veterinary faculty’s farm has various farm animals and the cows are milked daily & pasteurized by the vet students. Cheaper than the carton milk, most of their customers are foreign students studying at UPM.

The condensed milk became slightly yellowish because I missed out a few stirring and got it a bit burnt. I read about someone using slow cooker without closing the lid that does not require stirring, but it takes more hours. I will try that next time.

Why did I make condensed milk? Because Nigella Lawson is addicted to the Breakfast Bars that uses condensed milk and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Time for some healthy indulgence.. Stay tuned Click here for the Breakfast Bars post!

Update 11 August 2012 – Many readers have successfully made non-dairy condensed milk with this recipe (read the comments section), you can try with soy milk, nut milk or coconut milk.

Update 5 Nov 2012 – Many have request for the UPM address for fresh milk, I’m sorry that I don’t have the exact address.
From KL, go towards the Mines Shopping Center, UPM is further after that. Look for Hospital Serdang signboard & UPM golf course. The building is called Sales Gallery, near the UPM golf course. The sales gallery is selling produce of the UPM farm-veggie, meat, milk, etc, only open on weekdays 8am-5pm.

I have stop getting milk from UPM after moving away from Serdang. now I’m getting fresh milk from Pastry Pro in Taman Bukit Maluri, Kepong.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, bring the milk and the sugar to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently for about two hours (yeah, I know..) until the volume is reduced by half. The mixture should be barely simmering and never bubbling at any point. Stir every 15 minutes or so to keep the milk from forming the "skin" on top. I forgot to stir and the milk burnt slightly and turn yellowish instead of remaining white.

After 2 hours, stir in butter.

Remove the pot from heat and let the milk cool. The mixture will thicken further after it has cooled.

Notes

When refrigerated, homemade sweetened condensed milk has thicker consistency than the commercial one. You can add a few drops of water and whisk it lightly to get a thinner mixture.

I have goats and would like to make this with my goat milk…do you think it would work? I want to make fudge with condensed milk, but I have so much goat milk that I would like to make the condensed milk for the recipe with it first and then put it in the fudge. Also, do you think this would freeze or not? If you don’t know, that is ok. I will try and post after I try it and let you know…

I do not see there’s any problem using goat’s milk to make condensed milk. However I’m not sure what the texture of the condensed milk will be like after freezing. Please do let me know, if you had tried freezing a little for experiment 😀

I just made this and mine don’t seem to be thickening it just stays runny. I followed step by step and i redid the milk just in case i did do something wrong and still runny. I waited 4 hours for this and nothing thick. Any idea`s.

Hi there! My condensed milk came out REALLY thick, its almost like a condensed milk “paste” instead. Is it because I cooked it on the stock for too long? It also came out very lumpy as well, but I’m guessing because I didn’t stir enough throughout the process…am I right? Thank you very much! 🙂

It’s all good now! I fixed it by adding boiling water into the paste and reduced it on the stove again. It’s creamy and smooth now. When I first cooked it I added milk in the pot, let it boil and turn down the heat into simmer. Then I added the sugar and cooked it for around 1 and a 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. I turned off the heat once it turned into a thick liquid and then added some butter in.Crystal recently posted..Banoffee Pie x Tiramisu with chocolate mascarpone

Sweetened condensed milk in savory pie filling? that sound so strange. I usually thicken any recipe with flour or starch when the dish is almost done. Mix 1-2 tablespoon flour to 1/2 cup liquid (make sure the flour is dissolve), before adding to the simmering 1 liter pot of ingredients. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes and mixture will thicken.

Several people asked about using skim or low fat milks and using alternative sweeteners as well. Those will all affect how thick the sweetened milk gets.

If I were diabetic I would try using stevia as a sweetener or the stevia mix. I am not sure how much sugar you can use as a diabetic.

They make the low fat sweetened condensed milk commercially however, I am sure they add thickeners. These thickeners are now available in the grocery or specialty stores. CMC, is used as a food glue, thickening agent
and a binder. Xanthan, guar gum and agar agar, are all used to thicken liquids as well as in a binder for vegan & gluten free baking. These are all used to add to food to make them thick you can buy the at specialty grocers and cake decorating shops.

Most of these work in cold liquids so I’d wait till they are cooled to add them or look for the directions.

I tried making it just now using semi-skimmed milk, but after 3.5 hours (and the mixture was half of its original volume) – the texture is still liquidy. Even after adding 1 tsp of baking soda, it did not thicken. Moreover, there was no bubles on top of the mixture originally, but they appeared after baking soda was added. =( will try making it again when I am free. Nevertheless, thanks for your recipe =)

In my opinion, cooking with skim milk will not thicken (no matter how long you boil it). Skim milk is ‘white liquid like water’ with fat remove. Boiling whole milk into half volume, whatever that is lost is the water in the milk being evaporated. What’s left is more fat.

Thanks so much for this recipe! I halved it and used 2% milk with a bit of heavy cream. Mine didn’t thicken properly, even after 3 hours, so I added baking soda as another commenter suggested and it worked great. Thanks again! 🙂

This recipe is great; was looking for a way to avoid purchasing a can of condensed milk and found your site that uses “real” ingredients. Made it and did not thicken so added 1/4 tsp baking soda and a bit more sugar and put it back on the stove on low; turned out just like your photo!! And used it for a cherry cheesecake. Awesome. Will definitely never buy can milk again.

Hi Kimi, I don’t sell homemade condensed milk. In fact I haven’t made these for a long time since I found out I’m dairy intolerant. It’s pretty easy to make, especially using slow cooker method shared by one of the readers in the comment section. Good Luck

I tried this with almond milk – it was still very liquidy when it finished simmering and became gelatinous when it cooled. It was unbearably sweet and difficult to spread.

However, it was excellent in coffee and tea. When you pour almond milk straight into a hot beverage, you’ll get little granules floating to the top. I didn’t get this problem when using the condensed almond milk. It was smooth and creamy throughout. And it’s not too sweet once dissolved, but I’m someone who likes their coffee and black tea super sweet so I may be biased…

I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well for you. I have not tried this recipe with non-dairy milk, so I can’t explain what happen. My homemade almond milk separates after a day and I need to shake it. maybe it might effect end result if i use it to make condensed almond milk.

Thanks so much for this recipe! Was glad to find it because I had milk to use up in a hurry (it was close to its expiration date) and condensed milk can be expensive here in Melbourne!

I found that a skin still forms while the condensed milk is cooling (not sure if that happens in Malaysia too or because the weather is colder here) so I had to cover the entire surface of the condensed milk with clingwrap.

Also added a pinch of salt (1/8 of a tsp maybe?) to enhance the flavour. Turned out very yummy – will most definitely use this recipe again!

The skin will form when the milk cools down. It will happen when you boil milk, remove the skin once it’s cooled and the skin don’t form anymore in the fridge. ah thanks for the tip on adding salt. glad you love the recipe

This is a great recipe! I am making my own condensed milk for the first time that I can remember, and didn’t have dried milk on hand. So glad to find this page. In the middle of the night, making chocolate cream pie so I have all the time in the world.

Mine didn’t thicken either. It tastes amazing but took about 3.5 to 4 hours to reduce to 1/2. I used 1L of milk and 1c sugar as called for. I added the butter when that time was up because the recipe said it would take 2 hours and to add the butter at 2 hours (so I assumed that meant to add it at the end). Should I have added it at the 2-hour mark even though I wasn’t anywhere close to it being reduced by half? Even after an overnight in the fridge, it’s still only the consistency of cream. Delicious but runny like cream.

I’m going to try the baking soda tip you mentioned to another commenter. I had made this to use in a fudge recipe but it won’t work with it being as runny as it is. I’m not sure what I did wrong. :/

Hi Peggy. I’m also puzzled with what went wrong. A few possibilities.. Is the milk full fat or low fat? Low fat will give a thinner consistency even though it’s reduced by half. Butter is to be added after the milk is reduced by half (has been evaporated). If you continue simmer after adding butter, the fat in butter will split and form a layer of fat on top.
Why don’t you make it into dulce leche? Put the condensed milk into jar, place it into a low simmering pot of water for 3-4 hours. 10 hours if using crockpot.

Hi Alma, double boiling method can definitely help prevent burning, but it will take long time to cook till half the volume. One of my readers successfully made them in crockpot, read about her method in the comment section

Hi, just wanted to know if anyone has tried making this recipe with granulated Splenda instead? We’re Cuban and also grew up with S. Condensed milk but my 12 y.o. son was diagnosed with diabetes 4 years ago and I’ve had to cut down on most of my recipes that use the Con. milk. I’ve been looking for a sugar free substitute since then…

I made this with raw skim milk (we kept most of the cream for other recipes). I made this in the crock pot – on high for 30 minutes until the milk started to steam and sugar was disolved and then on “keep warm” for 2 1/2 hours with the lid off. It was wonderful! I then put that into 1/2 pint canning jars, cleaned the crockpot, put the jars back in the crock pot and covered them with hot water (1″ over the top of the jars). Cooked on low for 10 hours with crock pot lid on. It made the best dulche leche I’ve ever tasted. Gave as gifts this year and made many people happy.

Thanks for the information to make this without all the additives. Most of the time the canned stuff tastes like the can anyway. This is 1000 times better!

Hi Katie. Thanks for sharing your great idea and processes. I’ve tried using slow cooker, but the milk end up clumpy because the skin formed on top. I must try your method, i can imagine me happily licking of the dulche leche! Thanks again and happy new year!

To make condensed milk, is it necessary to stir? Because me and my friend are going to try this at 6 ‘o’ clock as it is our only free time and 8 is very late so we need to refrigerate it & I’ve hear it thickens it so what should I do?

one layer of skin will form when milk is boiling, and usually overboil if it’s not stirred. milk might also get burnt at the bottom of pot. after 2 hours of cooking, the milk will be reduced by half but it will not be very thick. refrigerating will thicken it further, but won’t be as thick as the canned condensed milk. Take it out of fridge to warm to room temperature to make it more liquid for easier usage.

Thank you SOOO much for this recipe. Ive recently come across a fudge recipe than needed sweetened condensed milk. And when I checked my cupboards… There was NONE!! So I’ve been searching on the internet for some sweetened condensed milk recipes but all of them but this one uses actual milk. I’ve probably made this condensed milk at least 4 times now and I’m definitely not EVER gonna buy that canned stuff. So I thank you Justasdelish for this. Just a note… On my first try I got impatient so I was tempted to turn up the heat to a medium-high. Don’t do this or you will find little pieces of cooked milk in your condensed milk. Look forward to your further recipes. BYE

Hi Tyler, I’m happy that you found this condensed milk recipe useful. Yes, I’ve also found that if the milk is cooked on medium heat, there’s some clumps in the finished condensed milk. Do share with the recipe with your friends, I’m sure many people will be using condensed milk for Christmas cooking/baking.

Just letting you know how grateful I am for this recipe! I have made it with goats milk as I make home-made florentine biscuits frequently but we have a child with a cow’s milk allergy.
It works beautifully and is very delicious.

It’s always so heartwarming to hear how the condensed milk recipe turns out. and it’s a first time I hear about florentine biscuits. just googled and found some recipes, they look very delicious coated with chocolate. well anything with condensed milk and chocolate is a winner 😀

I am Haitian and I’m making a Haitian Drink call Kremas, which consist of Sweet Condense Milk, Coconut Milk, Almond Extract, Rum and various of spices. I love to make things from scratch, mostly all my dishes are. While making this drink I ran out of (CAN) condense milk, which by the way is very expensive! $2.00 a can, So I said to myself I am sure there is a home made recipe for this. I didn’t want to go to the store again, since I was out all day preparing for Thanksgiving.So I went online and found your recipe : ) online and I have all the ingredients. I will not ever buy can sweet condense milk. This is so easy and much healthier. Thank you so much

Hi Evol. The Haitian Kremas drink sounds really exotic and delicious. I’m so happy that the easy condensed milk recipe works well for your drink. and yes it’s so much healthier too. It’s heartwarming to know this recipe helps me to connect with so many people around the world that loves condensed milk, and now to have a new Haitian friend.. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family 🙂

oh dear, I don’t have the exact address.
From KL, go towards the Mines Shopping Center, UPM is further after that. Look for Hospital Serdang signboard & UPM golf course. The building is called Sales Gallery, near the UPM golf course. The sales gallery is selling produce of the UPM farm-veggie, meat, milk, etc, only open on weekdays 8am-5pm.
I have stop getting milk from UPM, now getting fresh milk from Pastry Pro in Kepong.

I know I have an easy access to get this SKM (Susu Kental Manis) but it will be healthier to make your our own. Last year it happened I made chocolate condensed milk which is used in many Indonesian sweet desserts and beverages since I have never seen any chocolate condensed milk for sale in Canada unless I have to make special orders to some Indonesian online stores.Pepy | Indonesia Eats recently posted..Bali: 100 Sunset Boutique Hotel and Lawar Kartika

How amazing, I came across this recipe because I am addicted to the Nigella’s breakfast bars you mention and I wanted to make a lactose free version for my lactose intolerant daughter! I will let you know how your condensed milk recipe works using lactose free milk. How funny we are both inspired to make condensed milk because of Nigella! Ps try adding 100g dark chocolate chips to the breakfast bars, mmmm!

Yes, this is amazing indeed, we connected because of Nigella’s breakfast bars. Some readers have tried this recipe using coconut milk and soymilk with great success. Do update me how the recipe and breakfast bars turn out for you. and I love your tips on adding choc chips to the bars, choc makes everything taste better 🙂

I just tried doing this because I LOVE putting condensed milk in my coffee, rather than creamer and sugar, but the resulting mixture came out….not quite right. After it cooled it became rather hard, with just enough give in it to put a finger indention, and it wouldn’t dissolve in cold drinks, only hot ones. (I made it to mix in with my iced coffee…. So much for that idea!)

Is it maybe because I used a sugar syrup rather than just sugar? I had some leftover sugar syrup from a little rock candy experiment with the kids, and I hate to waste, so I used that, and I also left out the butter at the end.

Regardless, I will definitely be trying this again with normal sugar soon.

I am perplexed with how the mixture became hard, I suspect it might be the sugar syrup. I’ve tried sweetening with honey, after the milk volume has reduced by half and taken off heat. It turnt out ok, just not as thick as adding white sugar to boil with. Hope you try this recipe again.

Well I’ve finally given this another shot! And as it turns out, it was the sugar syrup. Makes the milk hard as it cools. Did NOT have that problem this time, and it was delicious! I was a little worried at first how I’d get that wonderful nutty flavor that I taste in the condensed milk when I buy it, but to my pleased surprise, that is apparently the natural flavor. Wonderful! I’m going to make another batch of this eventually, a bigger one. This time I used it in some homemade baked apples, and it was fantastic~

ohmigosh i’m so glad i found your blog. where’ve i been?? living under a coconut shell? it seemed to be nearly impossible to find another malaysian with a lot of passion to avoid commercially produced, preservative-filled packaged products. i make my own yogurt, rice milk and everything else i have time for. i’m definitely gonna try this recipe as soon as possible. just one question (if i’m not re-repeating the question, that is!!); how long would the milk keep in the fridge?

Hi Babybooned, Thanks for dropping by my blog and found it useful. I first started my blog to encourage more malaysians to eat real & healthy food, but having a hard time reaching that the right readers. Most of my readers are from USA. Even though the response is slow, I believe in planting the seed of thought, and it’s encouraging when I start seeing family and friends becoming a little more aware and cooking more often day by day. Do help to spread the word to anyone you know who is also on this journey. I have tried making rice milk once, but don’t quite like it.
About the recipe, I’ve never made big batches to keep, the longest I’ve kept in fridge 2 weeks, it’s difficult to resist not eating by the spoon.. LOL!

I’m so glad I found your website! I didn’t know making condensed milk could be so simple. I avoid dairy and white sugar so I’m planning to try this using coconut milk and coconut sugar. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

By the way, I’m from the Philippines and we also put condensed milk on our bread! 😀Aya recently posted..Paleo Tablea Cupcakes

Hi Aya, thanks for dropping by my site. Yes making condensed milk is that simple. Yay! high 5 for condensed milk on bread!
I’m not sure about boiling/simmering coconut milk for long hours, I’m afraid it might curdle. maybe you can try with a small batch first. Or you can use other non-dairy milk like soya or any nut milk. I also avoid white sugar, but use it in this recipe for the sake of the photograph. I’ve tried with coconut sugar, the milk turns brown (and taste a bit strange). Brown condensed milk photo doesn’t look so appetising for others 😀

Hi Melissa, I’m scratching my head, wondering what could have gone wrong.
has the volume of the milk been reduced to half after 2 hours?
did you stir in butter after 2 hours of simmering?
if your answer is “yes” to both question, there’s a last method you can try. Bring the chilled milk to boil, and add in 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. stir and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or maybe longer, the milk should start to thicken. Adding baking soda while making condensed milk will turn it into dulce de leche..
hope this helps!

There is no other type of condensed non-dairy milk for sale in the country where I live, so I was surprised to find condensed soy milk products when I google for it. The method with non-dairy milk should be the same, cook milk and sugar until the volume is reduced by half or maybe 1/3 to help thicken it. Hope this helps and good luck!

Heyy i was wondering if you can half the recipe seeing as i don’t have 1 litre of milk and i want to make it now but i can’t buy and more milk? and if i do half the recipe how long do you think it will take to make and how much condense milk will there be?. but if i can’t then how much condense milk will there be if i make it with 1 litre of milk?

Hi Ally, yes you can half this recipe. i’m not sure how long the cooking time might take for half liter, but definitely less than
2hours. you will have to check and stir about every 15mins until the milk become half the volume. 1 litre milk gave me about 1 1/2 tin of condense milk (450g). hope my explanation helps.

There’s no problem to double the recipe. After consulting my mama (mothers seem to know everything :P), our conclusion is doubling the recipe to 2 liters milk will definitely increase the cooking time, but should be less than 4 hours, maybe 3 hours. Please share with me after you have tried it, I’m sure the other readers would like to know too. good luck!

gonna try his soon for my sisters in law who take so much of the sugar laden condensed milk. and then i’ll use some to make the granola bars snacks:Dmissyblurkit recently posted..Thailand Thailand Thailand!

Im addicted to sweetened milk and was looking for recipes..also found where is simple used powder milk with hot water, sugar and butter mixed together..I think those two hours will pay 🙂iphone 5 recently posted..iPhone 5 – New Design, iOS 6

I just forwarded the recipe to one Slovakian website (as I was born in Slovakia ) and it has really great response…did not except so many comments 🙂 thanks again..btw I was doing the milk last friday and again on saturday…managed it below 90 mins 🙂iphone 5 recently posted..iPhone 5 – New Design, iOS 6

Hi Sandie. I dont see any problem using skim milk and different type of sweetener. Low fat / skim milk might give you a more ‘watery’
condensed milk. whole milk has more fat, therefore the condensed milk will be thicker texture. same applies to making yogurt.
good luck and do update me how it went.

I don’t have the exact address. From KL, go towards the Mines Shopping Center, UPM is further after that. Look for Hospital Serdang signboard & UPM golf course. The building is called Sales Gallery, near the UPM golf course. The sales gallery is selling produce of the UPM farm-veggie, meat, milk, etc

I still can’t accept that our local condensed milk producers have decided that palm product is a ‘wonderful’ and ‘superb’ additive to our canned condensed milk. Don’t know if such action makes it healthier to begin with but I know that the canned condensed milk starts clumping after a while even before we open the can. Eeeps!
Appreciate your good reminder that we should live our lives healthily and not always take shortcuts. I shall endeavour to make this after my travel to Serdang’s UPM Sales Gallery this weekend.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Hi Yukimayu, thanks for your kind words. I’m happy that you are inspired to make your own condensed milk. I just made some 2 days ago, for strawberry cheesecake ice cream 🙂
It’s ok to take shortcuts once a while, I do too. Why not take fresh ingredients that’s still full of life force, instead a processed food that sits on the shelf for 3 years. besides additive, many of our local products are allowed many artificial flavours, colours, flavour enhancers, just makes me shudder everytime I read the food labels.
I have moved away from Serdang, so I haven’t been to UPM for 6 months. A friend told me that there’s quite a long queue everyday for milk. Now I’m getting my fresh milk from Pastry Pro in Kepong, or you can try to find some milk delivery man around your area too.

Thank you for the good tip on the line. I’ll probably try the trip for the fun of it since we’re pretty near to the place. Didn’t do it the merdeka weekend, will probably try it this Saturday. Hope they are open on Saturdays, aiks.

You are so lucky to have a source for fresh milk! I’m envious. I am the biggest fan of condensed milk so to NOW be able to make my own is very, very exciting! Thanks so much for the recipe and the process!

After making the condensed milk, I have become addicted to it – adding them to my daily breakfast. My sis thinks I’m nuts to make my own but homemade ones tastes so much better and creamier. Yes I’m lucky to have my man getting the fresh milk for me every week!

Oh my goodness, you are so patient! I used to love condensed milk, my parents always had a container in the fridge to add to their tea. When they weren’t watching, I’d steal spoonfuls for myself ! As a side note, I went to UPM! Brings back memories 🙂

How cool is this!! I never knew this could be made at home. And yes, I remember having condensed milk on bread when I was little and even suck it out of those little packs they used to come in. Hahahahaha! I can’t believe I did that! I can’t even imagine doing it now … sooo sweet! But this was good to know, and so easy to make (except for the 2 hours of stirring).

pretty cool huh? i tried my condensed milk on bread a few days ago.. oh it’s such a treat! makes me feel like a little kid once more 😛 didn’t remember little packs of condensed milk, i think i would have suck it too, just like you!

I never thought about all of the additives in canned condesned milk, but I’m sure there are tons. This is great! It looks better than the stuff in the can and I’m sure the homemade stuff tastes better too!

Kudo to you for making your own. Luckily the fat free condensed milk that I am using now only have two ingredients listed, fat free milk and sugar. I know some condensed milks even have trans fat in it and made with artificial stuff. In that case, good to make your own.

Hi and welcome!

I am Shannon and I believe in the power of food because what we put into our body, will affect our health, thoughts and actions. Here you'll find easy nourishing food that makes you feel good and taste just as good, mostly free from gluten and dairy, with many raw and allergy-friendly options. [Read More]